28 November 2011

If you follow me on TWITTER you might have heard that I was chosen by e.l.f (Eyes Lips Face) Cosmetics to review their line of brand new and un-released lipsticks!! I was delighted to be chosen, as I knew many British ladies were also keen to review these babies!! I was a bit late in receiving mine due to the postal services, but finally they arrived. The lipsticks are part of the permanent regular line and just in the last couple of days, are now available on the website HERE for just £1.50/€1.75! Here are the 6 colours available

I personally really like the packaging. I love that you can see the colour of the lipstick straight away. I'm not a fan of clear lids in the effort to do this, so to me this is the best idea I have seen for this! I do have a few little quams though! Scroll back up to the first pic. Notice anything!?? The lid of the 5th one is the opposite way around. I presume this was a mistake. Also, if you'd care to take a look at the picture below, you will notice that 2 lipsticks were missing their name & info labels from the end. Hmmm....not the best start, but nothing disastrous either, just a little hiccup I guess!!

One other slight negative I have about the packaging is that when fully wound closed, the head of the lipstick still sticks out over the clear tube (as seen in the pic below), so it will be easy to take chunks out of it when replacing the lid. Other than these few factors, they are reasonably sturdy for the price and overall I really do like the packaging.

THE PRODUCT

Now onto the actual lipsticks. They have a slight sweet fragrance which is lovely and can be tasted ever so slightly when removing if you lick your lips!

They are extremely moisturising. They leave a moist/wet look on the lips and are very easy to apply and blend. Because they are so moisturising, this means that they are also quite delicate (which as below, you can see I learned the hard way!!) This is my own fault though, as I opened the lipstick to the max for photographic purposes!! On regular usage I'm sure most of you won't be opening it fully!! NOT for the heavy handed! Now my 'Captivating' is a bit of a mess. Boo!! :(

THE SHADES

And now moving onto the most interesting part; the colours!! First impression? B-E-A-uuuutiful colours! Amazingly pigmented. I would even say they are even on par with MAC, including even the nude colour! Here we go!!

Nostalgic, Charming, Flirtatious, Captivating, Sociable, Fearless

NOSTALGIC

CHARMING

FLIRTATIOUS

CAPTIVATING

SOCIABLE

(This has a small amount of silver glitter in it but it doesn't show up in pics or in person! You can see it when you take off the lipstick though! Dono what that's all about!! Perhaps to make it seem shinier!? Meh!)

FEARLESS

UPDATE: I wore Fearless today and just wanted to update of how it wore. Reds are notorious for staying power/staining and this was the same. Most (but not all!!) of the moisture faded as expected but A LOT of the colour stayed. This is how my lips are looking after 6hours 36 minutes! (click to have a bigger look)

I have something to say..... I would GENUINELY wear ALL of these colours! There is not one that I do not like. The nude didn't photograph particularly well, but in person it is fab. I was particularly surprised by it (Nostalgic) I've never come across a cheap nude lipstick as good as this. It really is fantastically pigmented for a nude. Also the red (Fearless) shocked me. In person it's slightly deeper, it looks a little bit pinker in the photo's but it is one of THEE nicest reds I have ever tried!! (even though my boyfriend is scared of it!!)

e.l.f are one company who are great when it comes to special deals/codes etc. It is currently their 4th birthday and details of there offer is as follows:

(Extended until 9am 29/11/2011) Free shipping always gets me!! Keep an eye of their FACEBOOK and TWITTER for more offers too.

I am extremely impressed with e.l.f's new additions and at £1.50/€1.75 they're an absolute steal! Just be careful with them when opening and closing ;) What colours are your favourites? Which do you think looks best on me!!? Is your boyfriend/brother/father/male friend afraid of dramatic colours!!?

These products were sent to me for free from e.l.f Cosmetics for reviewing purposes. All opinions above are completely my own, 100% honest thoughts on the product.

25 November 2011

So this is a well over due post!! Just over 2 weeks ago I had some fun in Cork City. I attended the 'Real Capital' (d'ya hear that Dublin!!) book signing of the brand new Beaut.ie book 'Gorgeous To Go' by Aisling McDermott. This is the second book from Aisling - click HERE to have a look at both of them! It's available from the usual book outlets nationwide for €12.99.

I met up with Sinead TheMakeUpChair on Youtube and blogger HERE and Sarah who's blog is HERE. We were lucky enough to be included in the first 50 in-store for the signing so we were given a goodie bag each!! Noice!! Here are some piccys!!

That was fun but we had more plans to be getting too! We went for coffee (a latte, hot chocolates and brownies to be specific!) "Riiiing Riiiiiing"!! Sinead's sister Treena was on her way. Treena is also a YouTube laydee, her channel is HERE.

"Riiiiiing Riiiiing"!! My phone went off. It was Katie (KatieElisabeth21 on YouTube or blogger HERE) The girls went off to meet Treena and I stayed put to wait for Katie.

We all came back together then and had some chats before heading off to meet Jen (jenmurphyxx8 on YouTube) We spent the rest of the day having chats, coffee, playing games, had lunch and went shopping!! Both Sinead and Jen vlogged so you can have a look at their videos below if you like, along with some pics

It really was such a lovely day; completely laid back and chilled. It's always nice to speak to other girls who have some of the same interests I have :) Until next time!!

23 November 2011

Just found out that the Sigma website are having a 'Black Friday' this Friday 25th November 2011. Basically what this means is FREE SHIPPING for all customers!! Yay!! This is a rare (annual) occurrence for Sigma international customers.

EDIT as of 25/11/11 It has now been extended to 11:59pm CST so that is 3pm-5.59am (Irish/British/GMT Time!)

Enter the above code BF2011 at checkout.

If you are interested in items such as sets or other larger items, or brushes that are hard to source within Ireland/UK (E45 I speak of you babes!!) I highly recommend placing an order. In saying that, there is no minimum purchase to be entitled to free shipping so buy as little or as much as you like! :) Here are some other offers:

If you spend between $30-$90 you will receive a free travel size E25 Blending Brush.

If your order is above $100 you get this mini eye-shadow pallete (you won't receive both though!)

You can get 10% off your order by using the code PSW2011 orIN2011 (expires 30th November 2011) Because there you cannot get both 10% off you order and free shipping, so just use which ever works out best for you. But make sure to check out the 'special deals' sectiopn for some sale items! Or, if you miss out on Fridays sale the above code will still be active :)

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Otherwise, if you are in Ireland and are just looking for some individual brushes I highly recommend (second one!!) ordering from cloud10beauty.

Most of their brushes are actually cheaper than they are on the actual Sigma website!

Plus it's faster delivery

and you get 3 free samples.

To add to that, there is a special offer on at the moment. You will receive afree Sigma Travel E25 with any Sigma Order & Free Mini High Shine Lip Gloss with any Sleek Order (while stocks last) HALLO!!! Click HERE to have a look at the Sigma brushes they stock.

I am not affiliated or any of that other craic with either of these companies! Just sharing some valuable (imo) info with you ladies!! ;) Will you be making an order!?

Burgundy Cardi - No Name €9.70 on sale. It's actually an A-Wear cardigan and they just scribbled out the label. What's all that about!!? Just got it yesterday so they are still available.

Studded, Buckled brown boots - No Name €34.95. Also available in fawn and black. Got these yesterday as well so they should still be in stock along with a few other lovely boots! Shocker!! (to me anyway!)

18 November 2011

Today will be my first RAPID REVIEW. I introduce to you, Barry M Instant Nail Effects - Foil (don't know why they put the words in that order! A bit strange I think but whatevs!)

It comes in silver and gold. Here it is on my nails on it's own. I think it will look fab if you were to add some sparkles or gems or even as an accent nail for another look.

Application is really smooth (as it usually is with most metallic-ish nail varnishes). One coat will suffice and it dried very quickly. The only thing I was concerned about with this was brush streaks, but after I had applied, I could see this wasn't an issue. On this next mega close up you can see the brush strokes but it still looks neat. In person it's not noticeable as it turns out beautifully smooth and .....metal silver-ish!

I bought mine from ASOS HERE It's priced at €5.20 but you can get 10% off if you enter BONUSTEN at checkout. Overall; I like it :)

15 November 2011

I just received the scoop that today Ms. Alesha Dixon (singer-songwriter, dancer, model and television personality -judge on Strictly Come Dancing) has been officially announced as the newest member of the Avon Family for Ireland & the UK. She is now spokeswoman for Avon's make-up category and it's domestic violence cause. Avon Ireland has raised over €35,000 for it's domestic violence charity partners which includes Women's Aid, to help end violence against women. This is a massive issue and while it may seem impossible, all awareness raised will be a positive thing.

Her first beauty campaign will see her launching Avon's latest foundation innovation - Ideal Flawless. The Ideal Flawless range will offer Avon’s widest shade selection (great to hear!!) with Alesha appearing in brochures from February 2012. How beautiful does she look here!

Alesha's official title is "Beauty and Empowerment Ambassador". Avon is not just a brochure full of lots of goodies. For years they have been raising awareness on another topic. The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade is another cause that you may be aware of. Quoting from Avon.ie: "With the help of Representatives, customers and friends over €963,000 has been raised for Irish charities (1998 – 2010) primarily ARC Cancer Support."This is a massive figure and it will only grow with the backing of supporters and Avon customers.

As of customer of Avon's for about 10 years now, I urge you to take a look at a brochure if available to you. Alternatively you can view it online HERE or find out where your nearest representative is (or become one yourself!) If you're going to treat yourself to something why not feel extra good about it by supporting the "Speak Out About Domestic Violence" crusade. Some beautiful jewellery pieces (with an infinity symbol) are available.

Avon's official Facebook is HERE where you can find up to date information, photos, reviews and offers. If you're free at 2pm today (15/11/11) Alesha Dixon herself will be online for a Q&A! She will also be taking over the AVONUK Twitter at 1:30pm. Exciting! Get your questions ready!!

EDITToday Thursday 8th March 2012 is International Women's Day and Avon are encouraging ladies to wear their Empowerment Necklaces.The necklaces are €4.50, and all proceeds go directly to the Women's Aidcharity, who are working to end violence against women.I'm wearing mine, are you?